Affiliations 

  • 1 Service of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital of Geneva, Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland
  • 2 Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, National Heart Institute, Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Division of Clinical Pathology, University Hospital of Geneva, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland
  • 4 School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
  • 5 Cardiothoracic Unit, National University of Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latiff, 56000 Cheras, Malaysia
  • 6 Service of Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital of Geneva, Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland. Electronic address: Beat.walpoth@unige.ch
Eur J Pharm Biopharm, 2019 Jun;139:272-278.
PMID: 31004790 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2019.04.012

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Vascular prostheses for small caliber bypass grafts in cardiac and vascular diseases or for access surgery are still missing. Poly (Ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) has been previously investigated by our group and showed good biocompatibility and mechanical properties in vitro and rapid endothelialisation, cellular infiltration and vascularisation in vivo yielding optimal patency in the abdominal aortic position. The aim of the present study is to evaluate our PCL graft in the carotid position and to compare its outcome to the grafts implanted in the abdominal aortic position.

METHODS: PCL grafts (1 mm ID/10 mm long) were implanted into the left common carotid artery in 20 Sprague-Dawley rats and compared to our previously published series of abdominal aortic implants. The animals were followed up to 3, 6, 12 and 24 weeks. At each time point, in vivo compliance, angiography and histological examination with morphology were performed.

RESULTS: PCL grafts showed good mechanical properties and ease of handling. The average graft compliance was 14.5 ± 1.7%/ mmHg compared to 7.8 ± 0.9% for the abdominal position and 45.1 ± 3.2%/ mmHg for the native carotid artery. The overall patency for the carotid position was 65% as compared to 100% in the abdominal position. Complete endothelialisation was achieved at 3 weeks and cell invasion was more rapid than in the aortic position. In contrast, intimal hyperplasia (IH) and vascular density were less pronounced than in the aortic position.

CONCLUSION: Our PCL grafts in the carotid position were well endothelialised with early cellular infiltration, higher compliance, lower IH and calcification compared to the similar grafts implanted in the aortic position. However, there was a higher occlusion rate compared to our abdominal aorta series. Anatomical position, compliance mismatch, flow conditions may answer the difference in patency seen.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.